Enhanced efficiency of transfection of HSV DNA in HSV-1 DNA-transformed hamster cells

The efficiency of transfection, i.e., the number of plaques per microgram of DNA, was compared for herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 and type 2, and herpesvirus eidolon (antigenically unrelated to HSV) DNAs in HSV DNA-transformed cells (EH/A44) and control hamster cells (EHT). The efficiency of transfection of HSV-1 and HSV-2 DNAs was significantly higher in EH/A44 cells than in EHT cells, showing that an early step in HSV infection was involved in the partial resistance of HSV DNA-transformed cells to superinfection by various intact herpesviruses.